RALEIGH, N.C., December 29, 2023 – The Monroe College Mustangs men's basketball team's second matchup at the Wake Tech Holiday Classic came down to the final minute on Friday, but Caldwell Community College & Technical Institute managed to hang on as time dwindled away, seeing the Cobras pick up a 76-74 victory over the Mustangs. Monroe falls to 9-5 overall with the loss, while the Cobras improve to a 12-1 on the season.
After Friday's contest reached halftime with an even 36-36 stalemate, the Mustangs and Cobras went back-and-forth throughout the final 20 minutes. The Cobras jumped ahead quickly in the second half, going up by five points before the Mustangs quickly evened the score once again. Though the Mustangs tied the games a number of times, they were unable to jump ahead until quickly turning a 53-50 deficit into a 55-53 advantage after a three by
Jawarie Hamelin and a dunk by
Hassan Washington with 10:40 to play.
Both teams went quiet for three minutes until Caldwell's Pharell Boyogueno broke the silence with a three to put the Cobras back up by one, but Washington threw down another dunk to put Monroe back on top. The Cobras then got a three by Brandon Morgan to once again take over. The score was tied four more times over the next few minutes, but the Mustangs were unable to jump back ahead.
The Cobras broke a 65-65 tie with a Cincere Scott three with 1:57 left on the clock.
Albert Vargas hit a layup to get within one, but Scott got to the line and made both chances to keep the Cobras up by three. After a miss by Monroe,
Zatai Townsend picked up a big steal in the backcourt and scored to get the Mustangs within one again, but Trevur Smalls then went to the free-throw line and made both to make it a three-point deficit once again. After the Mustangs were stopped, Smalls went back to the charity stripe and made both shots to push the lead to five.
Ziare Wells quickly hit a jumper from the top of the key to make it a one-score game, but Scott got one more chance at the line and made both shots with three seconds left to put the game out of reach. Vargas made a three at the buzzer, but it was not enough to keep the game going.
Coming off a triple-double on Thursday, Vargas had another big afternoon, registering a double-double with team highs of 19 points, 11 rebounds and six assists to go along with a pair of steals in the game. Hamelin filled up the stat sheet as well, totaling 14 points, eight steals, six assists and five boards on Friday. Washington provided 10 points and three steals off the bench. Wells finished with five points, 10 rebounds and three steals.
The Mustangs will look to head home with one more win in the books for 2023, as they close out their trip on Saturday, Dec. 30, against host Wake Technical Community College. Saturday's tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 28 teams competing across nine sports. There are 20 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well the Monroe College marching band, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has seven teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at
www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (
Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (
@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (
@monroemustangs).
